Door pillar and the like



Oct. 25, .1932.

l. D. P ERRY nooR PILLAR AND THE LIKE Filed Oct. 28. 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l fil/1111 111,

g lf i l m l l n n l w Oct. Z5, 1932. l l. D. PERRY 1,834,998 n DooR PILLAR AND THE LIKE f Fild oct. 28. 1951 y 2 sheets-sheet 2 t IRA D. PERRY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,

Patented Oct. 25, 1932 'aureo STATES PATENT? GFFIC'E ASSIGNOR TO EDNA Il. MEYER, OF ROCKFORD,

ILLINOIS DOOR PILLAR AND THE LIKE Application filed October 28, 1931. Serial No. 571,571.

5 bile body and establish a portion of the door frame against which the swinging portion of the door comes into contact when the door is closed. In other words the door'pillar is located at the locking or latching edge por- 110 tion of the door.

Furthermore in the case of a great majority of automobile bodies constructed there are provided two doors at each side of the body, and the door pillar is located between these doors and 'it forms the portion of the body located at such point. In such case both of the doors swing towards and latch or lock to this common door pillar.

It is also customary to Vprovide the door pillar with a rabbeted or recessedl outwardly facing ledge portion whichestablishesla ledge facing outwardly towards the exterior of the body and towards the door. Likewise the edge portion of the door itself is provided with an inwardly facing rabbetedor ledge portion which is a companion to that of the door pillar, so that whenthe doorv is closed these two companion edge portions seat together or in close proximity to each other. In other words the door pillar has a ledge surface which faces outwardly in the direction of door closing movement and the door pillar also has an inwardly extending flange surface at the door side of the pillar l and which lies parallel to the direction of door closing movement. Generally also the door pillar is provided with an outwardly extending flange surface lying parallel to the `direction of door closing movement. The edge portion of each door is provided with companion surfaces including a ledge facing also inthe direction of door closing movement and which approaches the'corresponding ledge ofthe door pillar when the door is closed.

Generally speaking it may be stated that the door pillar is of T-shaped cross section in the case of automobile bodies having two doors closing against an intermediate pillar, and is of L-shaped cross section in the case of automobile bodies having only a single d-oor closing against the pillar.

- It is also customary to provide the door` pillar with one or more bumper blocks on the ledge which faces in the -direction of being of resilient material such as rubber or the like.` In the past it has been customary to provide the door pillar ,withv a socket or recess which is cut into or reaches into both the ledge and the inwardly extending flange whereby said socket or recess has exposures both towards the direction of door closing movement on the ledge surface and also par'- allel to the direction of door closing movedoor closing movement, said bumper blocks ment in the flange surface. In the past it has been customary to set the resilient bumper block into such socket or recess, said bumper block being of proper size and formation to extend beyond the ledge surface towards the companion door surface land to extend beyond the `flange surface so as to provide a wiping portion against which thecompanion portion of the door will engage when `the door is closed.

In the past it has also been customary to provide a clip or connecting .member located in said socket for the purpose of so engaging the bumper block as to retain itin place. The

foregoing arrangement is objectionable for the reason among other things that the said clip or special attaching device requires additional manufacturing operations for its production besides also requiring additional assembling and attaching operations during the construction of the pillar.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a sheet metal door pillar which is so formed as to provide a ledge facing in the direction of door closing movement and also the inwardly and outwardly extending flanges lying parallel to the direction of door closing movement and to provide'said sheet metal door pillar with openings in the ledge aforesaid, which openings are so formed as to receive companion portions of the bumper block itself tol retain said bumper block se` curely in place on the door pillar and in some cases to also provide the inwardly extending flange of the door pillar with an opening or openings to receive companion portions of a lip or skirt of the bumper block lying parallel to the direction of door closing moveinent and overlying said inwardly extending flange. In each case the arrangement is such that the bumper block is securely attached and held to the ledge and to the flange in a manner to effectually resist the shocks and pressures incident to the door closing operation and without the necessity of using clips or the like on the door pillar for retaining the bumper block in place.

In some cases it is also the present practice to provide a filler of wood or the like for all or a portion of the door pillar so as to stillen and reinforce the same. In such cases the sheet metal serves as a finishing plate or sheathing for such wooden pillar. In the case of this type of construction the wooden or other filler may be suitably soclreted or recessed at the proper position corresponding to the lugs whereby the bumper block is secured in place.

Avfurther advantage of the type of construction herein disclosed is the fact that the openings in the sheet metal door pillar can be readily formed by punching or other operations at the same time that the sheet metal is folded into the forni of the door pillar or by operations incidental thereto so that the entire door pillar construction including the means for attaching the bumper blocks in place is produced at a minimum of cost and with a minimum number of operations and without the necessity of using welding or other objectionable manufacturing operations.

Other objects and uses of the invention will appear from a detailed description of the same which consists in the features of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 shows a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of an automobile body having' applied thereto a door pillar embodying the features of the present invention, the construction illustrated heilig that in which both doors work against a common T-shaped door pillar, both of the doors being opened so as to better illustrate the constructtion of the door pillar itself;

Figure 2 shows a fragmentary horizontal section through a T-shaped door pillar ernbodying the features of the present invention together with the adjacent portions of the two doors, said doors being closed;

Figure 3 shows a perspective view of a short length of a lV-shaped door pillar of the type shown in Figures 1 and 2;

Figure l shows a view similar to th at of Figure 3 with the exception that it illustrates a wooden filled T-shaped door pillar construction;

Figure 5 shows a view similar to that of Figure 3 but illustrating a plain rectangular door pillar which is not provided with any outwardly extending flanges; and

Figures 6 to 19 inclusive show fragmentary perspective views of short lengths of different door pillar constructions embodying the features of the present invention.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2, the same illustrate a typical application of the einbodiment of the present invention. In this case the door pillar is designated in its entirety by the numeral 15. It is located intermediate between the front and rear door openings 16 and 17 respectively and serves the doors of both of these openings. A portion of the rear door 18 is shown in Figure 1 and portions of both of the doors are shown at 18 and 19 in Figure 2. Y

As shown in Figure 2 the door pillar 15 is of sheet metal including the cross plate portion 20, the two outwardly extending flanges 21 and 22 lying in the direction of door closing movement, the two ledges 23 and 24 facing in the direction of door closing movement and the two inwardly extending flanges 25 and 26 lying parallel to the direction of door closing movement. The swinging edge portions of the doors 18 and 19 are provided with the ledges 27 and 28 respectively which face in the direction of door closing movement and directly approach the door pillar ledges 23 and 24.

As a matter of convenience a U-shaped sheet metal plate 29 has its flanges seated between flanges 25 and 26 of the door pillar at the body side thereof; and a filler block 39 of wood or the like is placed into the channel 29. rlhe fabric 31 is then readily secured to the filler block 30 and the lips 32 and 33 at the edges of said fabric 31 overlie the flanges 25 and 26 of the door pillar and thus establish sealing lips through which the inner corners of the doors 18 and 19 seat and seal when the doors are closed.

Generally also the outer edges of the doors are provided with vthe overhanging lips 34 and 35 at the swinging edges of the doors so that said lips approach the door pillar and cover over the clearances between the edges of the doors and the outwardly extending flanges of the door pillar.

In the construction illustrated I have shown l.-shaped bumper blocks 35 and 37 as being mounted upon the two sides of the door pillar in position to receive contact by the edge portions of the doors when they are closed. Each of these bumper blocks includes a head portion 38 which seats aga-inst the ledge 23 or 24 as the case may be and a lip or skirt 39 which seats against an inwardly extending door pillar flange 25 or 26 as the case may be.

Referring to Figures 5 to 12 inclusive, the same show fragmentary perspective views of portions of typical door pillar constructions showing the manner in which the same are perforated or provided with the attaching portions of the bumper blocks. In the construction of Figure 6 the ledge 24 'is provided with a pair of openings 46 and 41 and the inwardly extending flange 26 is provided with an opening 42 in transverse alignment therewith. The bumper block 37 is provided with lugs 43 which have enlargedfheads and reach through the openings 40 and 41 of the ledge to the back side thereof so that said heads serve to engage the ledge and retain the bumper block in place thereon. vThe lip or skirt `39 of the bumper block is also provided with a hooked lug 44 which reaches through the opening 42 to the back side of th-e flange 26 and engages the same so as to retain the skirt of the bumper block securely in place.

rIhe construction shown in Figure 7 is similar tothat just described; but in the present case the outwardly extending flange 22 is also provided with an opening 45 in transverse alignment with the other openings so that it can be engaged by another lug or the head portion of the bumper block.

In the construction shown in Figure 8 the material of the ledge 24- is struck down and folded over beneath the ledge 24 so as to form an opening 46 in said ledge, the material so struck down being then folded over to provide a flanged seat 47 beneath the opening 46. The body portion of the bumper block is introduced through the opening 46 and seated against said flanged seat and supported thereby. In this construction the inwardly extending flange 26 is also provided with an opening 48 in transverse alignmentv with the opening 46. 1

The arrangement shown in Figure 9 is simiar to that just described but in the present case the material of the opening is cut away so that the seat 47 has been eliminated.

The construction of Figure 10 is similar to that of Figure 9 but in the pres-ent case the material of the opening 46 or a portion thereof is struck outwardly from the ledge 24 so as to form a lip or ear 49 which may be engaged by a suitable opening in the body of the bumper block in order to assist in retaining the bumper block in place.

In the arrangement of Figure 11 the ledge 24 is provided with two openings 50 and 51, the material from which openings being struck outwardly so as to form a pair of ears 52 and 53 facing each other and adapted to be engaged by suitable openings in the end portion of the bumper block body.

In the construction of Figure 12 the outwardly extending flanges 21 and 22 have been eliminated and the two ledges 24 at the two sides lof the door pillar are brought directly together and merged so that the door pillar is rectangular instead of T-shaped in cross section. The flange 24 is provided with the openings 40 and 41 at the two sides thereof similar to the openings 40 and 41 in the construction of Figure 6.

The construction of Figure 13 is vsimilar to thatof Figure 6 but inthe present case each ofthe openings in the ledge 24 is circular as shown at 40a and 412L and the opening in the flange 26 is also circular as shown at 42a.

The arrangement shown in Figure 14 is similar to that of Figure 11; but in the present case each of the ears 52a. andr53a is severed only across the width of the ledgev 24 so that the openings 50a and 51at are of somewhat different shape from those shown in Figure 6. Y

The arrangement of Figure 15 is similar to that of Figure 14; but in the present case the ears 52b and 53b are struck downwardly from the ledge 24 instead of upwardly so that the openings in the ledge are exposed ina different manner from that of the previous construction. Y

In the arrangement of Figure 16 the material of the ledge 24 and of the flanges 22 and 26 is pressed downwardly and inwardly so as to establish a seat 54 for the body portion of the bumper block, said seat being open at bothends asshown at 55 in Figure 16. Also the outwardly extending flange 22 is provided with an opening 56 in vtransverse alignment with this seat and adapted to receive a lug on the body of the bumper block to retain the same in place. i

In the construction shown in Figure 17 the ledge 24 is so treated as to provide a pair l1-0 of outwardly struck ears 57 and 58 facing each other and a pair of inwardly struck i ears 59 and 6() facing away from each other,

the ledge opening 61l and 62 being formed between the ears 57-.59 and 58-60 respectively. In the present case the inwardly extending flange 26 is also provided with an opening l63 in transverse alignment with the openingsand ears above referred to.

In the arrangement of Figure 18 the ledge 24 is provided with an elongated opening 64 set out into the middle of said ledge; and there may also be provided if described an openingl 65 in the flange 26 in transverse alignment therewith.

The arrangement of Figure 19 is similar to that of Figure 12; but in the present case there Ais only a single elongated'opening 66 in the ledge 24 for each bumper block and a single opening 67 in each of the flanges 26 or 25 as the case may be in transverse alignment therewith.

It will be noted that in each of the arrangements above illustrated the ledge portion of the door pillar is provided with one or more openings to receive companionv engaging portions ofthe head portion of the bumper block and in each case the inwardly extending flange portion of the door pillar is provided leo lzo

an openingto receive a companion engaging portion of the lip or skirt of the door pillar.

In the construction shown in Figures 2, 3, and 5 the filler block 30 does not reach far enough over to interfere With the inwardly extending hooked lugs on the lips or skirts of the bumper blocks. In the modified construction of Figure 4 the filler block 50 completely fills the space Within the sheet metal door pillar so that said filler block should be properly recessed at the positions Where the lugs of the bumper block extend through the sheet metal in order to permit proper engagement of the parts.

l/Vhile I have herein shown and described only certain embodiments of the features of my present invention still I do not intend to limit myself thereto except as I may do so in the claims.

I claim:

l. In metal door frame construction, a sheet metal door pillar suitably formed to provide a ledge facing in the direction of door closing movement and a flange connected With the edge of the ledge and disposed substantially parallel With the direction of door closing movement, the sheet metal of the ledge being suitably formed to provide a socket integral With the sheet metal of the ledge adapted to receive a resilient bumper block so as to cushion the closing of a door, one of Whose portions is movable toward the ledge in the closing of the door.

2. In metal door frame construction, a sheet metal door pillar suitably formed to provide a ledge facing in the direction of door closing movement and a flange connected With the edge of the ledge and disposed substantially parallel With the direction of door closing movement, the sheet metal of the ledge being suitably formed to provide a socket integral With the sheet metal of the ledge adapted to receive a resilient bumper block so as to cushion the closing of a door, one of Whose portions is movable toward the ledge in the closing of the door, said flange having an opening provided therein in a predetermined relation to the aforesaid socket and adapted to receive means for retaining the bumper on the pillar.

3. In metal door frame construction, a sheet metal door pillar suitably formed to provide a ledge facing in the direction of door closing movement and a flange connected With the edge of the ledge and disposed substantially parallel With the direction of door closing movement, the sheet metal of the ledge being cut and bent to provide a bumper receiving and retaining portion projecting out of the plane of the ledge, said portion being adapted to receive a bumper of resilient material disposed on the ledge in proper position for abutment by a portion of a door movable toward the pillar.

4. In metal door frame construction, a A

sheet metal door pillar suitably formed to provide a ledge facing in the direction of door closing movement and a iiange connected With the edge of the ledge and disposed substantially parallel with the direction of door closing movement, the sheet metal of the ledge being cut and bent to provide a bumper receiving and retaining portion projecting out of the plane of the ledge, said portion being adapted to receive a bumper of resilient material disposed on the ledge in proper position for abutment by a portion of a door movable toward the pillar, said flange having an opening provided therein in a predetermined relation to the aforesaid bumper receiving and retaining portion, said opening being adapted to receive means for further retaining a bumper on the pillar.

IRA D. PERRY. 

